I am happy to announce that on this GLORIOUS spring Saturday I have enjoyed two of the most amazing things ever:
1) A hike through the woods of New England (which are the best kind of woods in the world and don’t you dare try and argue)
2) A pre-hike breakfast of these Banana Chia Seed Pancakes:
These ain’t your grandmother’s pancakes. They are so much more. They are delicious, light, and fluffy, as pancakes should be. However, they are also super healthy made with whole wheat flour and sweetened with honey instead of refined sugar, with the awesomeness of bananas and chia seeds added to the mix. The mix of nutrient-packed ingredients make this an energy-boosting breakfast that will satisfy you for hours and won’t make you feel like going back to bed immediately after eating them!
So, if you are like Zach and me, you can do things like go on a wilderness adventure after eating them. We had a lovely hike through Lynn Woods Reservation in Lynn, Massachusetts and felt super energized from our pancake breakfast.
The most important thing to making pancakes with whole grain flour: they will have a greater tendency to be dense and heavy. It is very important that when you combine the wet and dry ingredients that you fold the batter carefully and only just incorporate the ingredients, without over-mixing. In addition, when you add them to the skillet to cook, use a spatula or wooden spoon to spread out the batter to make the pancakes thinner. This will ensure that they will be fully cooked on the inside while not burning on the outside. Also, try not to mix the bananas too much into the batter. I try and leave chunks of banana, which makes bites that taste REALLY good and helps keep the pancakes fluffy.
Whenever I have bananas get too ripe to eat, or I know I am not going to get through all of them, I freeze them to use in recipes like this that require mashed banana. Just pop them directly in the freezer in the peel. When you are ready to use them, microwave for about 30 seconds, peel, and add directly to your batter. They will be brown on the outside and the inside will be mushy, but they will be the perfect sweetness and consistency for your baked goods!
I recommend serving these pancakes in a pool with a moderate amount of maple syrup, topped with fresh bananas and almonds, or other fresh fruit.
Have leftovers? These pancakes can be frozen for later! I separated mine with small sheets of parchment paper and put them in a freezer bag. That way when I want one (or seven), I can take them out individually and microwave to enjoy a delicious, healthy, and fast breakfast. Or dinner, for that matter!
Banana Chia Seed Pancakes (no refined flour or sugar!)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour or spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons melted butter plus more for frying pancakes.
- 2 mashed bananas
- Maple syrup, fresh fruit, almonds, or other fixings for serving (optional)
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together butter, honey, milk, yogurt, egg, vanilla extract, and chia seeds. Set aside for approximately 5 minutes (the chia seeds will begin to start absorbing liquid during this time to make them a little softer).
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- After 5 minutes are done, slowly add the wet ingredients to dry, folding in as you go, until just incorporated (do not over-mix, or the pancakes will be tough and dense!)
- Fold in mashed bananas.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat until hot. Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in it, and spoon approximately 1/4 cup of batter into skillet for each pancake. Because the batter is a bit more dense than traditional pancakes, I recommend using a wooden spoon or spatula to smooth out the top to create a thinner pancake. This will ensure that it cooks the whole way through without burning the outside.
- When edges begin to look cooked, use a large spatula to flip the pancake quickly.
- After only a minute or so, the pancake should be cooked. Remove cooked pancakes to a plate and continue cooking in batches until the batter is gone, using 1/2 tablespoon more of butter to fry each batch.
- Top with maple syrup and fixings, and enjoy!
Notes
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Jess M
This has been my go-to recipe for pancakes for years. I actually prefer them over standard white flour pancakes. They have character and flavour. Plus they are super healthy. I top them with some nut butter, yogurt, and fresh fruit. Delish!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you like them!
Jay
It’s probably me for sure, but I tried to make these and they came out a complete mess. I feel like batter is too runny. Any ideas what it could be? Tips?
Elizabeth Lindemann
Oh no! I haven’t had this experience but one thing you may want to try is just letting your batter sit for a few minutes. Chia seeds absorb moisture around them and turn into a different, thicker texture- almost jello-like. That’s why they’re great for things like chia seed pudding. Letting the batter sit for a little will allow the chia seeds to work their magic and thicken the whole thing up. Hope that helps, and better luck next time!
Spring Gusick
I have made these pancakes for my family a dozen times. They have always turned out delicious! I follow recipe exactly. Thank you for your healthy recipes!
Elizabeth
So happy you and your family like these pancakes! They’re one of my favorites :-)
Hanna Morrison
Delish!!! I froze some for when I’m on the go! Thanks so much :)
Elizabeth
Yay so glad you liked them!! They are the BEST for freezing. So convenient! Sometimes I just pop them in the toaster like an eggo :-)
Manu
These are honestly the most delicious pancakes I’ve ever had! I used brown sugar instead of honey and white flour since I didn’t have whole wheat… I made sure to fold the batter and not to stir it too much and the consistency turned out perfect, so fluffy and light. It was just like eating banana bread! This will become a staple in our household. :)
Elizabeth
Thank you, and I’m so happy you liked them!!
Kristin
Snow Day in New England! Perfect day for pancakes. I substituted the flour with Oat flour and they came out yummy. Nice guten free, refined sugar free pancake packed with protein!
Elizabeth
Yes… Snow days are perfect for pancakes!! Glad you enjoyed them!
Viveca
These were sooooo delicious! I couldn’t have been happier with how they turned out. They tasted better than traditional pancakes and don’t weigh you down at all.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them!
Ross Blackledge
I absolutely love these, didn’t have any yoghurt so substituted custard, I know I’m odd haha, and added in some ground almonds which worked well happy days, one quick question how many calories do you think each quarter cup pancake contains roughly?
Elizabeth
Hi, Ross! So glad you liked them! I like your substitutions. I just did a quick analysis on this awesome calorie counter site (http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php) and in one quarter of the entire batch of pancakes (one serving), there are 205 calories. I’m not sure how that translates into each 1/4 cup individual pancake… but maybe you can do a better job of the analysis than I can! :-) Hope this helps.
Elizabeth
Oh- and that does not include things like syrup or nuts added on top of the pancakes!
andi
have made this recipe countless times since I found it, delicious!!! most recent time I substituted yogurt for applesauce… best thing I’ve ever done
Elizabeth
Hooray! So glad you liked it! Love the applesauce idea- I never really use this substitution but I should. Especially because I go apple picking every Fall and never am able to use all the apples- I’ll probably try to make it from scratch and see how it comes out! I’ll let you know!
Jen
15 cups of flour??
Elizabeth
Hah, nope! 1.5 cups :-) Unfortunately, the font on the recipe card I use makes the decimal point smush right up against the 1, and so 1.5 often looks like 15. I have switched recipe cards since this post but haven’t gone back and updated all my old recipes! For now, I added a space between the 1 and the decimal. That should deter anyone from making enough pancakes to feed an army :-)